Method and apparatus for feeding molten glass



METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING MOLTEN GLASS K. E. PEILER Filed Aug.11, 195e Oct. l0, 1939.

|| ...IJIJII Illll IIII lllllllhldllllk [7a veeo H22 'Z Peize?,

Mfw/ y? 22210 77a egg Patented Oct. 10, 1939 UNITED sTATEs METHOD AND'APPARATUS FOR FEEDING MOLTEN GLASS Karl E. Peiler, West Hartford,Conn., assignor to Hartford-Empire Company, Hartford, Conn., acorporation of Delaware Application August 11, 193s, serial No. 95,317

11 Claims.

This invention relates to feeding molten glass to molds by the "suctioncup or suction feeder method.

Prior proposals for feeding charges by the suction cup method have metwith little, if any, success, particularly in the manufacture of narrowneck ware, for the reasons that such proposals have failed to providethe required accurate control of weight, shape and condition of thecharges and to provide correct delivery of the charges to the molds.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and suitablemechanism by which charges of accurately controlled weight and shape,and in suitable condition of temperature and viscosity, may be properlydelivered to the molds of a forming machine.

To this end, there is provided a novel onepiece or non-partible suctioncup having a cavity, which may be tapered upwardly, and provided withtwo separately controllable sets of vacuum and air passagescommunicating respectively with the upper andlower portions of the cupcavity.

There is also provided suitable shears adapted to cut off chargesgatheredvin the cup at a pre-v determined and preferably a regulabledistance below the cup. The cup and shears may be operated andcontrolled by any suitable mechanism to move the cup and shears and toactuate suitable valves controlling the pressures in the vacuum and airpassages.

The provision of two separately controlled sets of passagescommunicating with the cup cavity is advantageous in that it assurescomplete and rapid filling of the cavity and the maintenance of contactof the glass with the lower portions of the cavity wall until the chargehas been cut oil' by the shears. It also permits discontinuance of thevacuum created by the lower set of passages and the breaking of thecontact of the lower portions of the charge with the lower portions ofthe mold, while the vacuum in the upper passages is maintained. Thus thecharge may be suspended and reshaped Within the cup to better fit themold in which it is to be received. Also the heat condition of the glassis improved through reheating of the surface during the suspension ofthe charge.

When the charge has been gathered and shaped and the cup moved to itsdelivery position, the

vacuum may be broken, and if desired, pressure applied in the upper setof passages so that the charge will be positively released at the propertime and will fall vertically from the cup without deflection of eitherend. i

In the accompanying drawing,

Figures 1 to 4 illustrate'steps of the preferred method, aswell as theconstruction of a cup embodying this invention;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 6 is a top view of the structure shown in Fig. 1, and

i Fig. 'l is a horizontal section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 1.

The drawing omits illustration of the valves and operating mechanism,which structures are per se old in the art'and may be lemployed in anyApne of a number of different forms.

As illustrated, the cup is of the non-partible type,` preferably made ofsections 'I-l rigidly bolted together to provide an upwardly taperingglass gathering cavity 8. Passages 9 may be provided in the sections forthe circulation of a cooling medium. The upper portion of the cavity 8is connected by a set of passages I0 to a pipe I I in which a suitablevalve (not shown) may be provided to connect the cavity alternately witha. source of vacuum and a source of compressed air. The lower portion ofthe cavity 8 is connected by lpassages I2 with a pipe I3 in which may beprovided another valve (not shown) by which the cavity may be connectedalternately with a source of vacuum and with the atmosphere.

The independent passages communicating with the upper and lower portionsof the cup cavity are employed to selectively create in those portionsof the cavity the same or different pneumatic conditions.

A pair of shear blades I4 are provided. The shearing mechanism may be ofany suitable type, but preferably is adapted to sever the glassconnecting the gather in the cup cavity with the glass in the gatheringpool at a regulable and predetermined distance below the lower end ofthe cup.

As indicated in Figs. 1 to 4, the preferred operation of the feeder isas follows:

The cup is moved into contact with the surface of the glass of thegathering pool I5 and vacuum is rapidly created-in the cavity by exhaustof air through the passages I0 and pipe I I and through the passages I2and pipe I3. This serves to quickly ll the cup with glass whereupon thecup is lifted from the glass. When the cup has been suitably raised, asshown in Fig. 2,'shear blades I I operate to sever the glass connectingthe gather to the pool and thus to completely separate a charge theweight and size of which are definitely determined by the cup cavity andthe disto delivery position (see Fig. 4).

tance below the cavity at which the shears operate.

The vacuum in passage I2 assures intimate contact of the glass with thelower cup wall and thus assures that the gather is of the proper weight.Without such a provision there is a tendency for the glass to pull awayfrom the lower edges of the cup to a greater or less extent, as the cupis lifted, so that the amount of glass cut on' varies more or less fromthe desired amount.

At or about the time the shears operate, the valve in the pipe I3 isoperated to destroy the vacuum and to place the passages I2 incommunication with atmospheric pressure. If'necessary a slight positivepressure may be applied for a short time. This change in the pneumaticconditions in the passages I2 breaks the contact of the lower portion ofthe charge and the cup cavity, leaving the charge suspended by its upperportion within and projecting slightly below the cup cavity. While theAcharge is so suspended, the lower portions of the charge are reshaped byelongation and reduction of section to make the charge more suitable forentry into a parison mold. 4The beginning of this reshaping isillustrated in'Fig.

After the shears have acted, the cup is moved As it arrives at thatposition, the valve in the pipe II is operated to break the vacuum inthe passages I and to introduce compressed air into these passages. Thisserves to break the contact of theupper portions of the charge with thecup', whereupon the charged drops vertically without being thrown to oneside as is frequently the case with cups which are opened to dischargethe glass.

If desired, the method and modified by the employment ofsuperatmospheric pressure, 'in lieu of the atmospheric pressure in thepassages I2, if it should appear desirable to increase the pressureelfective to free the lower end of the charge from cup contact. Also ifdesired, atmospheric pressure may be substituted for the compressed airemployed in passages I0.

Various other changes and modications, both in method and apparatus,will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and the inventionis not to be limited to the particular form of apparatus or particularmethod here disclosed.

e appended claims are to be construed as broadly as the prior art willpermit.

What I claim is:

1. The method of obtaining a charge of molten glass which comprisesgathering glass from a supply pool in the cayity of an open-bottomedgathering cup, severing the glass in the cup from the glass of the pool,preshaping the glass charge thus obtained to a shape appropriate to themold to be fed by maintaining the glass of the upper end portion only ofthe charge in contact with walls of the cup cavity while the remainderof the charge elongates downwardly by gravity, until the complete chargehas the shape desired, and then causing the preshaped charge to drop asan entity from the cavity of the cup for delivery to the mold.

2. The method of feeding a charge of molten glass to a. shaping mold,comprising gathering a charge of proper weight from a pool of moltenglass into a suction cup, maintaining the lower portion of the charge inintimate contact with the lower portion of the cup, separating thecharge from the glass in the pool while such contact continues, breakingthe contact of the lower portion of the charge with the cup,susapparatus may bev pending the charge so gathered within the cup untilit acquires a shape suitable for the mold into which it is to bedelivered and delivering the charge to the mold.

3. The method of feeding a charge of molten glass to a parison mold,which comprises gathering acharge of proper weight and of upwardlytapering shape by sucking glass froma supply of molten glass into anupwardly tapering cavity of a suction cup, severing the charge from theglass in the supply, increasingthe pressure effective upon the sides ofthe lower portion of the charge in the cup to break contactbetween thecharge and the lower portion of the cup while maintaining the chargesuspended by its 'upper portion within thecup to permit the charge toelongate and acquire a shape suitable for entry into a parison mold andthereafter delivering the charge as a unit from the cup to the mold.

4. The method of feeding a charge of molten glass to a mold, whichcomprises dipping into a pool of molten glassv a non-partible suctioncup having acavity of greater cross-section adjacent its lower end thanthereabove, exhausting the cavity of the cup through independentpassages connected to the upper and lower portions of the cavityrespectively to rapidly and completely ll the cavity with glass to forma charge having an initial shape corresponding to the said cavity,severing the charge from the glass in the pool, thereafter increasingthe pressure in the passages to the lower portion of the cavity to breakthe contact of the lower portion of said charge with the walls of thecavity, maintaining the charge within the cup while it reheats andelongates, releasing the .charge from the cavity and deliv` ering itinto the mold.

5'. The method of feeding a charge of molten glass to a mold, whichcomprises gathering from a pool of molten glass a charge of upwardlytapering form in an upwardly tapering cavity of a non-partible suctioncup, separating the charge so gathered from the glass in the pool,breaking the contact of the lower portion of the charge with the wallsof the cavity by pressure applied through the cup while maintainingcontact of the upper portion of the charge and the mold cavity,retaining the charge suspended by its upper portion within the cup untilthe lower portion of the charge reshapes under the action of gravity toadapt the charge to the mold to which it is to be delivered, thenreleasing the charge from the cup and delivering it to the mold.

6. The method of feeding a charge of molten glass to a mold whichcomprises gathering a charge of proper weight by sucking glass upwardlyfrom a supply of molten glass into and completely to the closed upperend of the cavity of a suction cup by an open-bottomed vacuumcommunicating with the closed end of the cup and then controlling ltheshaping of the lower end portion of the charge in the cup by a differentpneumatic pressure applied to the cup cavity remote from its closed end.

7. The method of obtaining a charge of molten glass which comprisesgathering glass from a supply pool into the cavity of an open-bottomgathering cup, severing the glass in the cup from the glass in the pool,changing the shape of the glass charge thus obtained to a shapeappropriate to the mold to which the glass is to be delivered bymaintaining the glass of the upper end portion of the charge in contactwith the walls of the cup cavity by one 'pneumatic pressure while thecontact between the charge and the lower walls 'of f gathered from theglass in the pool at a pre-y determined distance below the bottom of thecup, thereafter destroying the vacuum existing in the passagescommunicating with the lower portion of the 'cup and admitting airthereinto to free the lower end of the charge from contact with the cupwhile maintaining the vacuum in the passages communicating with theupper portion of the cup, moving the cup to a charge deliveringposition, and increasing the pressure effective in the last-namedpassages to positively discharge the charge from the cup.

9. Apparatus for feeding molten glass in separated nold charges ofshapes suitable for entry as units into forming molds, which comprises anon-partible glass gathering suction cup having a cavity of greatercross section adjacent its lower end than thereabove, said cavity beingopen atl its bottom and closed to glass flow at its top, means adjacentthe upper portion of the cavity for evacuating the air in the cavity toeffect lilling of the cavity with molten glass from a supply body at thelower end of the cavity, and means including a passage opening into thelower portion of the cavity for creating a higher iluid pressure in thelower portion of the cavity than in the upper .portion thereof to effecta lateral pressure on the lower portion of the charge to shape saidlower portion of the charge, whereby a charge may be gathered by suctioninto the cavity and thereafter heldtherein by-its upper portion whilecontact of the lower portion of the charge with the walls of the cavitymay be broken and the charge thus suspended and' shaped.

10. Apparatus for feeding molten glass comprising a suction gatheringcup having a glass gathering cavity therein,.said cavity being open atits bottom and closed to glass ow at its top, independent pneumaticpressure connections to the upper and lower portions of said cavityrespectively to independently Vary the pressure conditions eilectiverespectively in the upper and lower portions of said cavity, thepressure connection to the lower portion of said cavity communicatingwith said cavity from a level adjacent to its lower end for only a minorportion of the length of the cavity.

ll. Apparatus for feeding molten glass, com'- prising a suctiongathering cup having a glass gathering cavity therein, said cavity beingopen at its bottom and closed to glass ow at its top, independentpneumatic pressure'connections to the upper and lower portions of saidcavity respectively to independently vary the pressure conditionseffective respectively in the upper and lower portions of said cavity,the pressure connection to the lower portion of said cavitycommunicating with said cavity from a level adjacent to its lower endfor only a minor portion of the length of the cavity, and the pressureconnection to the upper portion of the cavity com-v municating with thelatter for the major part of the length of the cavity.

. KARL E. PEILER..

